The Good

The Bad

Not for part-time jibbers

Not for a lot of switch turns

Burton’s Channel gets mixed reviews

THE VERDICT

Whether you’re chasing powder off-piste or railing groomers on the corduroy, the new Burton Burton Deep Thinker makes days in the mountains better. The directional camber is responsive without being catchy, carbon strands plus the hybrid camber profile add tons of pop for park fun and side hits, and innovative edges grip the ice.

FULL REVIEW

The pro board for one of the most stylish riders ever, Danny Davis. Hence, the graphics are courtesy of the most stylish skateboarder ever, Mark Gonzales, who has shown his artwork all over the world. Even as one of the most stylish boards Burton has ever produced, there’s plenty of performance to back it up. The directional camber and deep side cut is great for fast GS turns. Carbon embedded in the fiberglass adds lots of pop. And it handels powder as well as ice.

Handling

The directional hybrid camber—traditional camber that’s set back, with an uplifted nose—the deck is firm, without being insanely stiff, and loves high speeds. A narrow waist, plus a deep sidecut make for a board that’s great for railing fast giant slalom-type turns on the groomers. Although you can ride it switch, it’s not designed for riding switch all day long.

Pop & Energy

Carbon embedded in the fiberglass matched with this aggressive hybrid camber profile translates into a board with lots of energy. With the high-tech mated with updated technology of yore, the Burton Deep Thinker is a powerful board for those who love going fast and searching for side hits all day long.

Versatility

Great for all mountain riding and good enough in powder, the Deep Thinker is an all mountain board designed—ever so slightly—towards using the whole mountain as a park. But, it holds its own in the terrain park, too.

Edge Hold

The East Coast is often called the Ice Coast. If you’ve ridden there, you know why: their definition of “icy conditions” is the much different than what’s dubbed “icy” in the Rockies or West. Ice in the east is real: scary as hell. But this harsh training ground makes for great skiers and riders. Burton has been in Vermont forever. Burton claims their Frostbite edges, were “introduced by Burton long before all the hype about wavy ‘serrated knife’ edges.” On ice, the edge hold — edges that extend out slightly beneath your front and rear bindings — is admirable. Not the holy grail of Mervin’s magne-traction, but close.

Sustainability & Craftsmanship

Built overseas, Burton’s craftsmanship is solid. Burton also has a big goal on the sustainability front: “100% Fair Labor Association compliance in our factories by 2020 will mean that every single person making our product works in safe, healthy, and environmentally friendly conditions.” Burton HQ in Vermont also has multiple green initiatives like composting stations, and organic and/or local drinks like coffee and kombucha. Burton uses sustainably harvested wood for their cores.

We tested these boards in the Eastern Sierra, in and around Mammoth and June Mountain. Testing began at a trade show in February, where we took about 15 boards. We rode each for about an hour. After that, we whittled the number down to the six tested riding all the way into August thanks to Mammoth record breaking season. They were open daily until August 6. We rode in all conditions from bulletproof hardpack to pow and everything in between.